The Restaurant
by DaCherry
Summary: When Edward returns to help manage his family's restaurant alongside his cousin Alice and her best friend, Bella, sparks fly between Edward and Bella, and not in a good way. At first.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Another day, another issue,_ I thought as I kicked the tire on my old red truck. _Why does she always seem to die on me when I need her the most?_ I had barely gotten halfway to work when she sputtered and died. I pulled out my cell phone to call my brother to pick me up. Of course, it took him forever to answer the phone.

"Hey, it's me, Bessie died and I need you to pick me up." I said.

"I'm over at Angela's working. Fuck, Bella. I told you to get a new truck!" Ben, my non-working mooch of a brother who lived with me, yelled.

"Can you come get me, please?" I hung up and dialed my place of work. Cullen's was an upscale eatery downtown.

"Cullen's."

"Hey, Alice, it's Bella. Can you please tell Carlisle that I'll be in as soon as I can? The truck broke down."

"Do you need a lift? I'm sure I can send one of the boys to come and get you," she offered.

I cringed, knowing she meant Jacob, and that wasn't going to work for me. He was the bartender at the restaurant. He had a crush on me, and even though he was a good-looking guy, I wasn't interested in him. "No, thanks, I'm hoping that Ben's on his way. He's at Angela's."

"Again? Don't sweat it, I'll let Dad know and cover you. It's a slow afternoon anyway."

"Thanks." I hung up, kicked the tire again and called Ben back, just to make sure he was on the way.

"I'm almost there," he said and hung up on me.

I called Sam, my mechanic, to come and tow my truck. Once he told me he'd be here soon,I opened the tailgate, so I could sit and watch for Ben. I rubbed my hands down my face and sighed. How did everything get so bad? My 22 year old lazy ass brother had no job and no prospects on the horizon. When I was 18,our parents died and he moved in with me. He blew through his small inheritance in about two weeks, but I was able to use most of mine as a down payment on a house. I used my salary from the restaurant to get us through the day to day stuff. Neither of us attended college, but I was trying to fix that by taking online courses through the local community college. I knew 25 was on the older side to start college, but I wanted to at least have a degree some day. Ben, on the other hand, was trying to be a writer for a blog no one read. Before I could contemplate my life any longer, my brother pulled up. Of course he had Angela, his 'boss' and girlfriend, with him.

I slammed into the backseat and basically sulked until he dropped me off at work. "Don't worry about picking me up, I'll have someone take me home." I stormed out of the car and headed into the restaurant. There weren't any customers, so I was able to clock in and look for Carlisle to tell him I was here. I knocked on his half open door.

"Come in." He said. I entered to see not only Carlisle, but Alice sitting in his office.

"Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to let you know I was here." I went to leave when Alice grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

"Have a seat, B. We need to talk." I met Alice in High School when she was a freshman and I was a senior. Despite our age difference, we quickly became best friends. She was taking business classes at the local community college as well as working for her dad. She would eventually take over the restaurant.

"That's never good." I swallowed heavily and sat on the couch.

"Nonsense, you're family, Bella," Carlisle said. "Alice and I were talking about me stepping back a bit around here. My nephew Edward is ready to move back here. He has a degree in Restaurant and Food Service Management. I've decided to bring him to take over for me, "he explained. "This leaves you and Alice to start running the other day to day around here."

"But that's Esme's job." Esme was Carlisle's wife.

"For now." Alice explained. "The 'rents want to retire. This means that Edward, you and I will run this joint." She winked.

"Me?"

"Well, Bella, you _are _taking accounting courses. This would leave you to take over Esme's job," Carlisle said.

"Really..?" I squeaked out.

"Why are you surprised, B?" Alice slapped my arm. "Edward would run the kitchen, I'd run the floor and you'd take over everything else."

"Wow, I'm speechless."

"Get used to it, Bella. As soon as Edward gets here next week, you're all going to be thrown to the wolves. Now get back to work, ladies." Carlisle dismissed us.

I took a minute to call Sam's for an update on my truck. It didn't look good. He promised to keep me updated on her status.

I ran to check the specials board for dinner and then met Alice back on the floor. She handed me the napkins and she verified all the sugars were full. The rest of the servers would be in for the before dinner meeting within thirty minutes. They'd do the rest of the prep work.

"Hey Alice, are you a little nervous about all of this?"

"Maybe a little, but I always knew I'd be taking over eventually. Why, are you?"

"More like gobsmacked." I shrugged.

"It'll be great, you'll see. "

Dinner went off almost without a hitch. Except for Jacob asking me out, for what felt like the90th time.

"C'mon, Bella, we'll have fun. I guarantee it," he said, smiling wide.

"No, thanks, Jacob. I don't date people I work with," I explained, yet again.

"Then I'll quit. Just one date; I promise you won't regret it." He handed me the beers for table five.

"I'm sure it would be nice, but no, thanks." I picked up my tray and delivered my drinks. As soon as it was done, I cornered Alice. "Hey, can you take me home tonight? Jacob asked me out."

"You're too sexy for your own good." Alice yanked my ponytail. "Let's pick up a bottle of wine on the way, and you've got a deal."

We shook on it and finished our clean up before heading out. We hit the grocery store, and Alice picked out a bottle of wine while I grabbed some chips. Once we got back to my house, I was happy to see Ben was yet again not there. Unfortunately, his mess was.

"You've got to do something about him." Alice said, pushing his stuff off the couch and onto the floor.

"I know, but whenever I bring it up, he makes me feel guilty." I handed her a glass of wine and settled next to her.

"Why do you feel guilty? It's_ his_ fault your parents booted him, not yours. He's an adult now and you aren't responsible for him. I can't believe you allow him to be such a pig. He does have a room."

"I don't allow it, Alice. Between school and work, I'm busy. I don't want to hover over him. "

"You can't keep living like this, Bella."

"I'll talk to him tomorrow." I sighed. "Tell me about Edward? I don't think I've met him."

Alice snuggled in for a story. "Well, he's five years older than me, so three older than you. His dad, my Uncle Emmett, was Dad's partner in the restaurant. He and my aunt Rosalie died in a car accident when he was about twelve. He lived with his Gram after that, and he pretty much disappeared. He moved to Farmingdale for college and stayed outside of New York City for a few years, utilizing his degree."

"Farmingdale isn't that far away. Neither is New York. He couldn't take a five hour road trip to visit?"

"I think there were too many memories." Alice shrugged it off. "He swore he'd never return, though, so I wonder what happened."

"I guess we'll learn more when he gets here," I said.

Alice and I chatted for a few more hours, before she left with a promise to pick me up in the morning. I decided to read a few chapters for class while I waited around for Ben to get home, but he didn't so I sent him a 'we need to talk' text, locked up and went to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ben was sitting in the kitchen when I got up the next morning. He'd even made a pot of coffee, likely to try and butter me up. I grabbed a mug and joined him at the breakfast bar. "Ben, I hate to do this, but I need you to move out."

"You're just like everyone else, Bella, giving up on me." Ben pouted.

"You did this to yourself, Ben. You're the one that pissed our parents off so much; they needed you to get out for a week. I realize you have some guilt about it because you were living with me when they died. It was a horrible thing, but you're not a kid any more. You're a man; you need to act like one. I've been beyond patient with you, paying your way, living in your filth and basically supporting you. I'm done. You have until the end of the week to be completely out."

"Where am I supposed to go, Bella?"

"Not my problem, Ben. All I can tell you is that I want you gone, and I don't want you back without an invitation. I've allowed you to take advantage of me since the day you got here, and I'm not doing it anymore. " I stood, taking my coffee with me and went to my room to log on to my class. It took Ben all of five minutes to slam the door behind him. I spent the next two hours working on spread sheets for my accounting class before jumping in the shower and getting ready for work.

Alice was helping herself to some coffee when I got out of the bathroom. "Did you talk to Ben?" She asked, adding sugar to her mug.

"Yes, this morning. He told me I was just like everyone else, giving up on him...yadda…yadda… guilt trip…."

"Where is he?"

"If he's smart, he's looking for a place to live. I told him he needs to be out by Friday."

"Wow! I bet that went over like a whore in church. I'll ask Jasper to change your locks on Saturday, so he can't come back in."

"Thanks, Alice. I'm ready if you are."

"I am." She placed her mug in the sink and we headed to work.

It was slow for a Wednesday evening. This was a good thing, because Carlisle allowed me to do homework if I had a chance. I was only taking two classes, but one of the instructors handed out work to do like candy on Halloween.

Ben wasn't home when Alice dropped me off, which was also a good thing. He had me stressed, and I didn't want to deal with him. Alice would be picking me up tomorrow so I could get my truck back from Sam. Sam, who happened to be Jacob's cousin, owned the auto shop, and he allowed me to make payments on any work done. It was probably an elaborate ploy to get me to date Jacob, but that wasn't happening.

"Hi, Bella," Sam greeted me outside Thursday morning as Alice drove away.

"Hi, Sam. I brought coffee. I know how much you love Starbucks versus that sludge you call coffee here." I winked and handed him the cup I got just for him.

"Thanks. Let's go in and talk about the truck." Sam opened the door and ushered me into the lobby.

Sam drank some coffee, and turned to me. "To be honest, Bella, I'm not sure how long I can keep her running for you. I can only do so much. It's harder to find parts at a reasonable price. She's a great truck, but I think you need to garage her until you can afford a complete overhaul. Once you do that, she'll be much cheaper to upkeep."

"What am I supposed to drive in the meantime, Sam? It's not like I have extra money lying around."

"I have a solution." He waggled his eyes, and I smacked his arm.

"I want to buy it from you. Rebecca has expressed interest in it. This way you can put the money I give you into a new vehicle."

"I still can't afford a car payment, Sam. You know this."

"Lucky for you, I have a used car that will cost the same as what I'm going to give you for the truck."

"I'd have to know all the specs on the car you basically are trading to me. And I'd need to think about it. I've had that truck since I was in high school."

"Don't be nostalgic, but I'll let you think about it. Let's get you back into Bessie." Sam stood, offered me his arm and yanked me up. Once I was driving again, I headed to the hardware store for new locks. A single girl can't be too careful.

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and cleaning as much as I could around Ben's mess. I couldn't wait for him to be gone.

On Friday, Alice sent her boyfriend Jasper over to hang out with me prior to work, just in case Ben came home. His deadline to be out was today, and I wasn't sure if he was going to be an ass about leaving. By the time three rolled around, we still hadn't seen him and I needed to get to work. Jasper offered to stay, though, which I appreciated.

During the evening rush, I did get a text from Ben simply stating, _At Ang's_, so I had Alice check with Jasper to verify he was out. Jasper said yes, so Alice and I decided it was a celebration night and headed for wine before going to my house.

When we got there, Jasper handed me a key. "I changed the locks for you. This way Carlisle doesn't have to swing by tomorrow."

"Thanks, Jasper." I hugged him. "Wine?" I offered, showing him what Alice had picked out. He nodded, so I left them in the living room to get comfy and uncorked the wine in the kitchen.

"Hey, Bella! Did you bring home any leftovers from the restaurant?" Alice yelled.

"No, didn't you grab them?"

"No, shucks, pizza it is." I heard her on the phone as I headed in to the living room with three glasses. Once the pizza arrived, we settled in, watching movies and talking about how Edward joining us might affect us.

**A/N: Thanks whole-heartedly to my BETA-extraordinaire, TwilightMomofTwo who not only hooks a sister up, give me great snark. **

**As usual, things in here are semi based on my RL. **

**And as usual: Love it? Hate it? Please review**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning, there was a knock on my door just as I finished putting a load of laundry in. When I looked through the peep, I was surprised to see Angela on my doorstep. I opened the door, but didn't ask her in. "Angela, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ben sent me over for a few more things he left here. He gave me a list," she explained.

"From what I can tell, he took all of his things yesterday. Can I see that list, please?" I stepped on the porch, pulling the door shut behind me. She reluctantly handed me the list, and I glanced at it.

"Yeah, none of this is leaving my house, Angela. Tell Ben he can call me with any questions." I went back in, and shut the dead bolt, leaving her standing on my porch. I fumed a bit, but decided to let it go. I'd talk to Alice about it later on. I grabbed my laptop and settled in for some homework before actual work.

Alice was sitting at the front booth, rolling napkins when I got to the restaurant. "Hey, Bella. Come join me."

"I'll be right there." I went to the office, which was currently Esme's, but would be mine and Alice's in a few days, to put my purse down. I clocked in and went to help Alice. "So, you'll never guess what happened this morning," I said, grabbing a stack of the napkins to roll.

"Oooh, do tell." She leaned closer.

"Angela came over with a list of things to pick up for Ben. The best part? It was a list of things I own. "

"What?!" she screeched.

"Yep. It was a lot of the things left directly to me by our parents. "

"He's such an ass." She shook her head.

"That he is," I agreed. "It was nice to not trip over his shit this morning."

"Should we have Jasper go over and check out the house? "she offered.

"No, new locks are on all the doors, he's not getting in without breaking a window, and I would press charges. He knows that."

"Well," she began but was cut off by Esme sitting down with us. "Hi, Mom."

"Alice. Bella." She leaned in to kiss each of us on our cheeks. "What's happening, ladies? Any good gossip? "

"Well, Bella kicked Ben out this week."

Esme turned to me, cupping my chin and moving my face back and forth. "Looks like you're dealing well with this decision. And it couldn't have happened any faster as far as I'm concerned. "

"It was a difficult thing, but it had to be done, Esme. I wasn't doing him any favors. Hopefully he can mature, now that he has to stand on his own two feet," I explained.

"We'll see." She snickered. "Oh, we heard from Edward today. He'll be here on Tuesday. I know that's your usual day off, Bella, but can you come by so we can have a meeting about the changes?"

"Of course, I can. What time?"

"Let's make it ten, so before the lunch rush."

"I'll be here."

"Great. What do you think about getting a different color for the napkins?"

"Whatever you want, Mom." Alice replied.

"Not any more. This will be your decision to make. You, Edward and Bella. Although, I doubt Edward will care as much about the colors. His main focus will be on the food management and the kitchen. And, Bella, you'll have final say on everything as you'll be the money girl."

"Sheesh, that sounds like a lot of power, Esme." I laughed and cracked my knuckles.

"It is and it isn't. I'll show you. That reminds me, when can you and I sit down to start some of this turn over? Alice will be coming in an hour early for a week or so. I doubt she'll need to do that for more than a few days, as she's already been helping me out front. "

"Whenever you want. Let me know what works best for you. I could come in on Monday and Tuesday even though I won't be on the floor."

Esme steepled her fingers in thought. "Monday would be great for sure. That's usually when Carlisle and I sit down and hash out expenditures for the week. You'll both also need to think about replacements for you on the floor. You'll eventually be quite busy. Okay, time for me to go. Have a great evening." Esme grabbed our rolled napkins and dropped them at the prep stand on her way to the kitchen.

"I didn't even think about replacement help on the floor, did you?" I asked.

"No, I hadn't."

"But I like being on the floor, Alice." I pouted until she smacked my arm.

"Pouting is for children, baby girl. Here, grab those and let's finish our part." Alice nodded towards the other stack of napkins, and we both got into gear for dinner service.

The night went off without a hitch. Alice invited me to hang out with her and Jasper at their house after work. I wanted to shower first though, so I made a quick detour, changing into yoga pants and a tee and grabbing what was left of the wine.

Jasper greeted me at their door holding their 'baby', a six foot California king snake named Caius. I laughed at the name until Jasper told me it was a variation of a Greek name meaning masculine. "Hey, Sunshine, kiss the boy?" he offered, holding Caius' head up to me.

"No, thanks, I'm good. "

"Suit yourself. Ali's in the kitchen." He closed the door behind me, and I went to join Alice.

"I brought the leftovers from last night." I handed her the bottle and reached into the fridge for a beer. "I'm wined out," I explained, twisting the cap.

"Hey, so Jacob asked about you at work, again." She nudged me.

"Why? Haven't I made it obvious that I'm not interested?" I sighed and headed to their den to watch the game with Jasper.

"You have but really what's the harm? Allow him the date and maybe a good time. No one's saying you should marry him." She sat on the couch next to Jasper.

I cuddled on the love seat. "Are you forgetting his lack of maturity level? I mean, come on already. He's your age but acts as if he's still a teenager. He annoys me. Plus, I don't really want to date someone I work with. That could be all kinds of trouble."

"Then don't date him, just have sex." I smacked her arm. "It boils down to this; you are in dire need of dick. It's been months since you and Alec broke up, and I know you're not getting any from anywhere other than your drawer." She wagged her eyebrow.

"Can you not talk about this in front of me?" Jasper put his hands over his ears.

"As if you've never heard us talk about sex, Jasper. I have no interest in dating Jacob. None. At all. I am however open to dating other men, or just getting laid. We're done." I pulled Jasper's hands from his ears.

"I do have a guy I work with Bella, if you're interested. Just let me know," he offered.

"Thanks, I just might. Now what's the score?" I focused on the baseball game. After an hour, I got up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Al." I went home and hopped into bed, exhausted.

**A/N: Thanks whole-heartedly to my BETA, TwilightMomofTwo, who never seems to tire of my wrong usage of a comma. **

**Hi new followers + readers. Welcome! **

**Love it? Hate it? Please review**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next few days flew by with a final project for my accounting class and dodging calls from Ben. His nasty messages, demanding things from the house, were starting to really irk me. For some reason, he thought he could help himself to things that weren't his. I knew he would only pawn them for cash. If he hadn't wasted his inheritance on a car and partying with his friends, he wouldn't be in such bad shape. Jasper had even caught him hanging out near my house, making me glad Alice had insisted on new locks.

On Monday, I headed to my first training session with Esme. I met her coming out of Carlisle's office. "Hi Bella, good morning. Did you need coffee before we get to it?" she offered steering me to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Esme. Coffee sounds great." I poured a cup and followed her to her office.

"First things first," she said. "Take a look around and tell me what you think."

"Umm…okay." I looked around the space in confusion. "Looks like an office to me."

"Great, smart ass. Is this office okay for you? I ask because, with Edward coming back, we're going to re-open the second floor offices. There are two large spaces up there as well as a bathroom. So if you want to move up there, you can. I only worked down here, because Carlisle did. "She winked. "There's also the option of breaking the wall down between this office and Carlisle's and giving you a lot more space to either share with Alice or not. "

"Wouldn't Alice want the larger office upstairs?"

"No, sweetie, she made it very clear she wants to be closer to the floor. Edward would be taking over his dad's old office which is upstairs. That leaves one more open up there. If you don't want it, it can continue to be used as storage."

"Let's go look at it and I'll let you know. Is everything in here staying or going?" I took another look around focusing on the shelves and cabinets and the huge desk.

"The desk is going, everything else will stay. Let's head upstairs." Esme got up, retrieving a key that was hanging near her desk.

"I don't think I've ever been up here," I commented, climbing the short staircase to the second floor.

Esme unlocked a door and went in, turning the light on. "I'll have to get a cleaning company in here. Most of these boxes are old linens and things we discontinued due to stains or colors. Maybe you and Alice should go through them before we get rid of them."

I stood in the middle of the room, soaking it in. "Are you sure Alice is okay with me taking this? What about Edward? Will it bother him to have me nearby?"

"Not at all, Bella. You know you want it." She nudged me, laughing.

"I kind of do. " I could already picture it in my mind.

"Then it's a done deal." She ushered me back down to her office. "Sit at my desk and let's get started."

She and I spent the next two hours going over the software she used as well as her inventory spread sheets. By the time I left, I was exhausted and still had some homework to do. I stopped by the deli to grab a sandwich and headed home.

Ben was sitting the front porch when I got there. "Hey, Bella, can we talk?"

"About what, Ben?" I sat on the steps with him.

"Can we go inside?" he asked.

"No. What do you want?"

"Look, I need cash, and I wanted to …"

I put my hand up to stop him." I've given you plenty on top of what you received. I have nothing left for you. Don't ask me for more." I got up, unlocked the door and shut it behind me, fastening the dead bolt.

Ben hung around out front, probably hoping I'd open the door back up, but I ignored him, focusing instead on homework. I must have fallen asleep working because I jolted awake and noticed it was two am. I logged off my computer, brushed my teeth and undressed before climbing into bed.

The next day, I did laundry and cleaned up a bit before heading to Cullen's. I figured I'd meet with Esme for a little bit before the staff meeting. Alice was sitting at a booth up front with Jasper, drinking coffee, so I joined them.

"How goes it, little B?" Jasper asked. He knew I hated nicknames so I gave him the stink eye.

"It's going." I shrugged. "Ben decided to come over and try to beg me for money yesterday."

"What's wrong with him?" Alice demanded. "Are you sure your house is safe from a break in, Bella? I don't trust him these days."

"I hope so. Jasper, can you maybe take a look around and verify that for me? If I need better security, go ahead and take care of it for me." Jasper worked for a local alarm company, so I knew he'd hook me up.

"Sure, Bella. Give me your keys." I handed them over.

"Alice, I'd like to talk about offices, if you have time."

"I have plenty of time, Bella. I'm going to stay downstairs. With monitoring the floor, it'd be much easier for me to be closer. Mom mentioned you wanted to be in the bigger one upstairs."

"It's more so that if I have homework, I can do it in relative peace. But I'll be close enough if I'm needed on the floor. "I sighed, "I don't really want to quit working the floor."

"Me neither, but mom mentioned a raise, so I might be convinced. Oh, Edward's here!" She shot up and ran to the front door, leaping into the arms of the tall guy that entered.

"Have you ever met him" Jasper asked.

"No, you?"

"Not yet but that's about to change." He stood up as Alice approached us.

"Jasper, Bella, this is Edward. Edward, this is my boyfriend Jasper and my best friend, Bella."

"Hi, nice to meet you," he said, putting his hand out for us to shake. "Where are Carlisle and Esme?"

"Probably in his office. They're in the downstairs ones," Alice explained, and Edward took off down the hall.

"Wow! He seems so different than I remember," she commented.

"It's been years, of course he's different. " I looked at my watch and got up."Time for the meeting. Jasper, I can grab the keys back whenever. Thanks." I headed to the back of the restaurant where the rest of the staff had gathered. I plopped down next to Jacob, leaving a chair in between for Alice. Edward was sitting to the side of Carlisle and Esme. I took a glance over at him; he was really nice looking. Alice joined us, just as Carlisle stood up to talk.

"I want to thank all of you for coming in for this. I know it's not often we have staff wide meetings, and I appreciate you all making the time for it. First, I'd like to fill you in on the changes that will be going on around here. Esme and I will be retiring soon. "There was a collective gasp from the crowd. "I know, we all thought I'd die in that office over there." He pointed and we all laughed. "With our leaving, there will be management changes. I'd like to introduce you to my nephew Edward. His dad and I started this restaurant years ago. Edward, can you say a few words?"

He looked uncomfortable, but stood to address us."Umm….I'm Edward. I worked here in the kitchen was I was a little boy. I graduated from Farmingdale with a degree in Food and Restaurant Management. I've been running a small place in Brooklyn for the past few years and thought it was time I came home." He cleared his throat and sat down, and Esme stood up.

"Edward will be taking over what Carlisle was doing, but with more emphasis on the food side. One of the things we've been lacking for a long time was someone that could manage that with the purchases. We've been doing it alongside of Mike for years, but it's a lot of work." She nodded to the cook, Mike. "This leaves all the accounting and front end to be handled by two other people versus just by me. Alice will be taking over all the personnel procedures. She's your go-to for anything front end related. This leaves Bella taking over the financials. She's your payroll girl, so don't piss her off!" We all laughed again. "The changes are happening now, so unless it's an emergency, I want you to all get used to going to these three from now on. Carlisle and I plan to have everything turned over within a week."

Carlisle stood up to speak one more time. "If any of you have further questions or concerns, please come and talk to me today. Thanks everybody."

The crowd dispersed, and I decided to go upstairs to my new office. Alice followed along, to offer help and suggestions. She and I started opening boxes of linens. "Piles of good, the bad, and ugly?" I suggested.

"Works for me," she commented, opening the closest box to her." Ugh, yellow. "She cringed and dug in. "There are napkins and linens in here. I don't feel the yellow, though, what about you?"

"I'm anti-yellow. I say stick to white, red and black. Maybe grey or blue if they're in here."

"Agreed." She closed that box up, put it in the 'NO' pile and moved on. After another hour, we called it quits. We'd made a significant dent in everything.

"I'll have Jasper help me move all this to his truck and take it away. That leaves only the cleaning and painting up here. When do you want to work on that?"

"I should be finished with class work in a few days. Your mom mentioned a cleaning service, so maybe we should ask her?"

"Makes sense," she agreed and we went back downstairs.

I poked my head into Esme's office, but she wasn't there. I went to look in the kitchen to no avail, so I just decided to leave her a note. Coming back to her office, I stumbled into someone. "Sorry, "I said, looking up. Of course it was Edward.

"Looking over your new space?" he asked.

"Oh, no. I'm taking one of the upstairs offices," I explained.

"Why? That should be Alice's space." He crossed his arms. "It is after all her family legacy."

"She didn't want it; I did. End of story. Can you move, please? I have somewhere to be." He turned to the side, allowing me to pass. I texted Esme as I left just to let her know that I would be available for more training whenever she wanted, and went home.

**A/N: To all of you reading, thanks for stopping by. If you've left a review, I've responded, unless FF didn't send it to me, or you're not logged in.**

**Thanks, as ever, to my BETA Twilightmomoftwo, who hides her annoyance at my misuse of commas**

**Love it? Hate it? Please review**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I read a little in my accounting book, but kept drifting to the 'incident' in the hall with Edward, as I was now calling it. I looked at my watch and saw that Alice still had a few hours until she'd be off work, so I sent her a text.

_Odd thing at work today. Can you swing by?_

I didn't expect to hear from her until her shift was over, so I decided to take a meal break. I shut my text book and got up, stretching my back, when my phone beeped.

_On the way, slow night_

I grabbed a beer and had just sat down at the counter, when Alice was banging on the door.

"Let me in, little piggy!" she yelled. I barely had the door half way open before she bounded in like Tigger. "Ooohhh, beer me, please." She plopped at the counter, and I handed her a beer.

"So, what's up?"

"Did you talk to Edward today?" I asked.

"Not really. Why? Oh, do you want me to put in a good word for you? I suppose he is hot." She twisted the cap off the beer.

"NO, Alice! Sheesh. Even if I did think he was cute, I don't date where I work. I told you that. No, I had an odd incident with him after the meeting today."

"Well, let's amble to the couch, and you tell Auntie Alice all about it." She patted the seat cushion next to her on the couch.

"I was going to leave your mom a note and ran into Edward in the hallway. He was pretty shitty about me using the upstairs space. He claimed it's your 'legacy' and stood in my way with his arms crossed. He barely moved when I told him to. It was weird." I shrugged and drank my beer.

Alice put her finger to her temple. "Something is definitely up with him. He's very different than what I remember. Of course, I also haven't seen him in a long time. I will reiterate to him tomorrow why I won't want to be upstairs and how we're turning dad's office into the storage space for all the spare linens, so they're closer to the floor. "

"Works for me. I just don't want to get off on the wrong foot with him. It'll be easier to work together if we got along."

"It'll work out," she said.

She and I chatted for another hour until Jasper called to say he was home. I walked her to the door and bolted it behind her.

That night I had dreams about Edward. Not the good kind, either.

The next week flew by in a mass of work, training and finals in my classes. I was looking forward to having the summer off. I'd decided to not take classes so I could get into the groove of my new job. Alice and I were working side by side with the current staff, and everyone seemed to be on the same page. Edward was doing the same with the kitchen and bar staff.

Ben had stopped by three more times but I shrugged him off each one. I told him if he wanted to talk to me, he had to call me and make plans to do so. I just didn't have the patience to deal with him anymore. He needed to re-evaluate himself and do some maturing. In all honesty, I didn't want to sit and talk to him.

Today was Esme and Carlisle's last day at work. They would still be around if we needed anything, but they wouldn't be coming in to the restaurant. Alice and I had made them a cake, and the rest of the staff was coming in for an impromptu retirement party. They were very surprised, and Esme even cried a little when she handed over her set of keys. We told her to keep them, but she insisted.

Carlisle and Edward spent some time talking in the corner. He seemed happy, but I couldn't really tell with him. I had avoided being alone with Edward since the incident in the hall. I wasn't sure what his issue was, but I didn't want to put myself in the position of being sneered at again. The staff seemed to like him, though, so he got props for that. Especially as I knew Mike didn't like anybody.

Esme and Carlisle left amongst a chorus of 'See you soons' and the rest of us got to work on the evening prep. Alice and I were sitting out front rolling napkins, when Edward plopped down, handing us each a bottle of water.

"What's up, Edward?" Alice asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about some minor menu changes, "he said, rolling his water in his hands. "I found an old menu in my office and was thinking of maybe moving back to those items."

"Sure. Do you have the menu with you?"

"No, it's upstairs. Just tell me when you and I can sit down and talk, okay?"

"Sure. Bella, what works for you?" Alice turned to me, but I didn't have a chance to answer before Edward interrupted.

"Why does it matter when _she_ has time?" he demanded.

"Because she's the money person. If we're making changes, we'll need to make sure it works in favor of profit, Edward," she explained.

"What the fuck ever, I've got to check on the kitchen." He stormed off.

"Wonder what that was about. Have you guys had a fight or something?"

"No, Alice. I haven't been alone with him since that first night. He won't even look at me when we're in the same room."

"Odd," she commented but said nothing else, and we finished our prep.

"Have you though any more about a replacement for you?" I asked as we filled the bins with the rolled napkins.

"Not really, but I was thinking maybe part time help to cover our lunch shifts, then we would work the busy nights?" she suggested.

"I like that idea. This way we can work on restaurant business, or I can do homework during the day."

"Let me see how it can work. Let's get to it." She and I headed into the kitchen for the before dinner briefing with Mike.

**A/N: To all of you reading, thanks for stopping by. If you've left a review, I've responded, unless FF didn't send it to me, or you're not logged in.**

**Thanks, as ever, to my BETA Twilightmomoftwo**

**Love it? Hate it? Please review**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A week later, and my classes were officially done. I had successfully avoided Edward as well. He hadn't brought back up the menu changes, either. Carlisle and Esme had stopped in once to check on things, reminding us to come to them with any problems while we adjusted to the daily flow of running the place.

Alice and I made plans for a girl's night out. We'd decided to cab it down town and call Jasper when we needed a ride home. I had just gotten out of the shower, when I heard movement in my kitchen. I grabbed my baseball bat and my cell phone as I quietly left my bedroom. Just as I approached the doorway, Alice turned and jumped about seven miles in the air.

"For fucks' sake, Bella! What the hell are you doing?!" she demanded, putting her palm over her heart. "Cripes, I think I'm having a heart attack."

I put the bat down and tugged my towel closed. "You're the one creeping about my house, Alice."

"I wasn't creeping. Besides, I knocked and then utilized my key. Although I'm not surprised you didn't hear me over your caterwauling in the shower. What song _were _you murdering?"

"Fuck off, Alice. Hey, what are you doing here so early?" I knew her penchant to try to force me into short tops. "You're not dressing me."

"Nothing," she tried to say innocently.

"You sit." I pointed to the living room. "I'm going to get dressed. You know I need another thirty or so minutes, right?"

"Then you'd better hop to it." She grabbed the remote and turned on my stereo.

I yanked on some jeans and found my prettiest push up bra, before tugging on a tank top. I knew we'd be dancing, and I'd get hot. I blow dried my hair and did my make up in record time. When I went back out to grab Alice, she was dancing around my living room, singing.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, turning the stereo off.

"Almost," she said, grabbing my boobs and moving them closer and up."Much better. Now you have maximum boobage. I already called the cab; we've got five more minutes." We ambled to the front door, and I went through my new ritual of setting the alarm as well as locking the deadbolt. As soon as we got onto the porch, the cab pulled up.

"Perfect timing," Alice said, running to the car. As soon as I shut the door behind me, the cab pulled out.

"Where to, ladies?" he asked.

"4th and Main, please," Alice replied, looking out the window.

We were quiet for the ten minute ride. As soon as we got there, Alice bounded out of the cab, tossing money into the front seat. "Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder.

"Shit, are you excited, or what?" I struggled to keep up with her.

"It's just been eons since it was just you and me and the music and the drinking." She squealed." Why'd we stop this, anyway?"

"Ummmm, you met Jasper and basically became a hermit? I dated Alec and stayed at home with him?"

"We should try to do this once a month," she decided, heading straight for the bar. "Four vodka shooters, please."

"Two lagers as well," I chimed in. I turned to face the dance floor as we waited for our drinks. "I see an open table on that side, Ali. Let's grab it, down these lovely beverages and get our dance on." I took the beers and made my way through the crowd to the table.

"Here's to being business runners," Alice said, toasting me. We downed our shots, and I inhaled my beer.

"I need another round before I dance, you want?" I offered, standing to hit the bar.

"Please."

The bar wasn't overly crowded so I was back to the table in no time. "Let's drink these, and get our groove on." I handed her two more shots. I'd barely taken one when she had both gone and half her beer was missing. "Sheesh, woman. Slow down! If you puke all over Jasper later he'll blame me."

"Drink up." She winked, got up and headed into the middle of the dance floor. When I caught up with her, some guy had already decided she was fair game, and had her back pulled against his chest.

I leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Do I need to step in?"

"Not yet, he knows I'm taken."

"As long as you're sure," I commented as a set of arms wrapped around my waist, yanking me into them. I turned to look over my shoulder only to be met with Jacob. "What are you doing?"

"You won't give me a date, thought I'd steal a dance." He pulled me closer as I pulled away.

"Don't get any ideas, Jake. You can get a dance, but only one, okay?" I made sure to leave plenty of room between our bodies.

He nodded, but looked pissed about it. Once the song was done, I took Alice's hand and pulled her to the ladies room. "Ali, what the ever loving hell is Jake doing here?"

"No clue." She shrugged, "But he's looking at you like you're something to eat. Here, adjust those puppies." She reached over and yanked my bra and tank down a bit showing much more cleavage than I had prior.

"This is false advertising, baby." I tried to settle thing back in place, but she slapped my hand away. "Leave it, you look hot."

"Alice, I'm not trying to hook tonight."

"Why ever not, Bella? You're adorable, have great tits, and men are staring at you left and right. Allow it, get laid, and feel better." She marched out the door, and I stumbled behind her as she went back to the bar. "One more round, I think," she decided, looking at her watch.

"One more," I agreed. "Did you want to call Jasper, now?"

"I'll text him." She pulled her phone out of her pocket as I paid for our shooters.

"Just vodka this time, no beer chasers." I handed her one as arms wrapped around my waist, again.

"Are you ladies trying to get drunk?" Jake whispered in my ear.

I slowly turned, removing his hands from my waist. "I've warned you about that." I said, shoving his hands back towards him.

"But you look so good tonight Bella. I know we'd be great together, if you just gave me a chance." He tried to pull me closer, but I moved closer to Alice.

"I don't want to have to tell you again, Jake. I'm not interested in anything with you. I let you have the dance, now leave me alone. You're only going to make things awkward at work, and I don't want that."

"Fine." He stormed off.

"Let's go out front and wait for our ride," Alice said, pulling me to the exit.

**A/N: Thanks to all of you that are reading my little ditty. If you've reviewed, I've responded. **

**Thanks to the pretties BETA, Twilightmomoftwo**

**Love it? Hate it? Please review**


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